Sheet-delivery mechanism of printing and other machines.



H. PEARCE & T. R. G. PARKER. SHEET DELIVERY MECHANISM OF PRINTING AND OTHER MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 23, 1909.

1,009,091 Patented N0v.21, 1911.

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H. PEARCE & T. R. G. PARKER. SHEET DELIVERY MECHANISM or PRINTING AND OTHER MACHINES. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 23, 1909.

1,009,091 Patented Nov.21, 1911.

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COLUMBIA PLANDGRAPH co.. WASHINGTON, D. c.

H. PEARCE & T. R. G. PARKER. SHEET DELIVERY MECHANISM OF PRINTING AND OTHER MACHINES. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 23, 1909.

' 1,009,091. Patented N0v.21, 1911.

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H. PEARCE & T. R. G. PARKER. SHEET DELIVERY MECHANISM OF PRINTING AND OTHER MACHINES. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 23, 1909.

1,009,091, Patented Nov. 21, 1911.

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COLUMBIA PLANOORAPH co.,wAsH|NGTcN. D. c.

HFPEARGE & T. R. G. PARKER. SHEET DELIVERY MECHANISM OF PRINTING AND OTHER MACHINES. APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 23, 1909.

1,009,091. Patented Nov. 21, '1911.

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f1 STTE HERBERT PEARCE AND THOMAS ROBERT GILLETT PARKER, OF BROADI-IEATI-I, ENG- LAND, ASSIGNORS TO LINOTYPE AND MACHINE-RY LIMITED, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

SHEET-DELIVERY MECHANISM OF PRINTING AND OTHER MACHINES.

Application filed September 23, 1909.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, HERBERT PEARCE and THOMAS ROBERT GILLETT PARKER, subjects of the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and residing at Linotype and Machinery. Works, Broadheath, in the county of Chester, England, have invented new and useful Improvements in and Connected with Sheet-Delivery Mechanism of Printing and other Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in and connected with sheet-delivery mechanism of printing and other machines, particularly of the class in which the sheets are delivered into trays which, when full, may be readily removed and be substituted by empty trays.

As a convenient illustration the invention is herein mainly described as applied to a printing machine delivery mechanism of the type adapted to effect the delivery printed side up, but from the said description it will be obvious that it may also be applied to other constructions of delivery mechanism and to bronzing machines.

In the accompanying drawings which are to be taken as part of this specification and read therewith :Figure 1 is the left-hand portion and Fig. 1 the right-hand portion of an elevation of the feeder side of part 1 of a printing machine fitted with delivery mechanlsm constructed according to the present invention; F 1g. 2 1s a plan of the sheetreceiving tray apparatus and adjacent parts i of the machine frames; Fig. 3 is a plan of parts of the sheet-delivery tape mechanism; Fig. 4 is an enlarged elevation of part of the tray-adjusting mechanism as seen from the left hand end of Fig. 1; Fig. 5, is a view as seen from the right-hand side of Fig. 1, partly in elevation, and partly in vertical section on the line 55 of that figure; Fig. 6 is a side elevation of a modified construction of a part of Fig. 1, and Fig. 7 is an elevation, as seen from the lefthand end of Fig. 6.

I11 the example illustrated in the drawings, the tray 1, when on the machine in its sheet-receiving position, is supported on a plurality of arms 2 fast to two parallel shafts 3, 1, capable of being rotated by the operator, about axes extending longitudinally of the machine.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 21, 1911.

Serial No. 519,210.

The tray 1 is formed with three vertical walls one at the feeder side, another at the gear side, and the third, unitingthe other two, at the delivery end] The bottom of the tray is formed of cross rails secured to the vertical walls at intervals apart so as to leave spaces 5 between adjacent rails, the said rails having battens 6 secured to their underside, one'at the feeder side and the other at the gear side.

The shafts 3, at are supported in stationary bearings 7 at the feeder and gear sides of the delivery end of the machine, these bearings being formed in brackets S which are rigidly attached to the side frames or arms 9 which, in turn, are rigidly attached to, and supported by, the main frames 10 in any convenient manner. The upper ends of the two brackets 8 at the respectively opposite sides of the machine are connected together by a bar 8, which serves to guide the tray 1 when it is being moved on to the arms 2.

The two shafts 3 and 1 are operatively connected together by two pairs of miter gear 11, 12 and a cross shaft 13, which latter .is supported and free to rotate in fixed bearings 14; by this arrangement, rotary ilnotion imparted to, say, the shaft 8, will be transmitted to the shaft 1.

Each arm 2, as shown best in Fig. 4, is :preferably cast in one piece with three other similar arms, each such arm being at ninety degrees from its neighbors.

The shaft 3, as shown best in Fig. 5, has fast on it a spur wheel 15, gearing with a @a pinion 16 fast to a spur wheel 17 which, in turn, meshes with a pinion 18. The irigidly-connected pinion and wheel 16 and 17 are free to rotate upon a stud shaft 19 rigidly secured to a casing 20 fast to the adjacent bracket 8. The pinion 18 is fast to a ishort shaft 21, journaled in a bearing 22 integral with the casing 20, this shaft extendiing beyond the bearing 22 and having fast Qthereon a crank handle 23 by which it is capable of being rotated.

The crank handle 23 is provided with a grip lever 24 integral with a detent 25 and pivoted to the said handle at 26, and it is acted upon by a compression spring 27 which exerts a constant tendency to move the said detent, nearer to the axis of the shaft 21. The casing 20 is formed with a notch or recess 28 with which the detent 25 is capable of engaging, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, to lock the arms 2 in their respective tray-supporting positions, and at one side of the recess 28 (it is the left-hand side in Fig. 4) there is-provided a curved or inclined surface 29 by which, during the rotation of the crank handle 23, the detent 25 will be depressed preparatory to engaging with the said recess. The detent 25 is in engagement with the recess 28 during the normal working condition of the apparatus, the spring 27 retaining it in that recess, and when it is desired to move the arms 2, the operator grasps the crank handle 23 together with the lever 24 and, by this latter act, disengages the detent 25 from the recess 28 and thereafter turns the crank handle 23 to the required extent as hereinafter more particularly described. In Fig. 5, one of the arms 2 is represented as broken away, in order more clearly to show the arm then actually supporting the tray.

Accommodation is provided for preferably two superposed trays as shown best in Figs. 4 and 5, where, for. convenience, the one in its sheet-receiving position is marked 1 and the lower one is marked 1*. Before starting the delivery mechanism, an empty tray 1 is placed in position upon the appropriate arms 2 which support it at a distance above the frames 9 on to which, when full, it may be lowered into the 1" position, to allow an empty tray to be placed above it in the 1 position, and to allow the then-lowered full tray (1 to be withdrawn from ofi the frames 9.

The delivery mechanism comprises a de-. livery carriage 30 capable of being moved in one direction, 2'. e. away from the impression cylinder 31 for receiving a sheet from the ordinary constantly operated delivery tapes 32, and carrying it over the tray 1, and in the reverse direction, 2'. 6. toward the impression cylinder for depositing the said sheet in the tray. The reciprocating motion is imparted to the delivery carriage 30 by ordinary well-known means such as two spur wheels 33 which are oscillated by means of a crank 34 and which mesh with toothed racks 35 on the side members of the said carriage, both of the spur wheels 33 being fast upon the same transverse shaft 36, Fig. 3.

The delivery carriage 30 is provided, at respectively opposite ends with tape pulleys 37 and a tape roller 38, over which are caused to travel endless tapes 39, herein termed delivery carriage tapes, which, in position, alternate with the before-mentioned delivery tapes 32.

The tape roller 38 is situated in the end of the carriage 3O nearest the impression cylinder 31 and its bearings 40 are acted upon by springs 41 which tend always to maintain the delivery carriage tapes 39 at a constant tension, irrespective of other influences tending to stretch them.

The tape pulleys 37 are rotated only when the carriage 30 is traveling toward the im pression cylinder 31, and then in such direction as to cause the upper flights of the delivery carriage tapes 39 to travel away from the impression cylinder, as indicated by the arrows in Figs. 1 and 3. This last-named result is obtained by causing the shaft 42 of the tape pulleys 37 to be rotated through a free wheel 43 operatively'fast to a spurv wheel 44, which meshes with a spur wheel 45 which, in turn engages with a stationary rack 46, fixed to the adjacent frame or delivery way 47; a second free wheel or detent device 48, may, if desired, be provided on the shaft 42 for preventing the said shaft being turned in a direction the reverse of that necessary for moving the tapes 39 in the before mentioned direction, if, for any reason, such as an omission to lubricate the free wheel 43, there should be a tendency for the shaft so to rotate backward.

The delivery carriage 30 is adapted to travel freely along the delivery ways 47 by means of the rollers 49 which roll along the said ways.

The delivery carriage 30 carries a rock shaft 50 adapted to rock in standards 51 fast to the said carriage, and having secured thereon, fingers 52 adapted to be moved, by the rocking of the said shaft, on to and away from the delivery carriage tapes 39 at the parts at which they pass around the tape pulleys 37, these fingers serving to prevent the sheets from slipping over the tapes 39, and to also prevent their leading edges from coiling up. The rock shaft 50 has fast to it an arm 53 pivoted to the upper end of a link '54 whose lower end is pivoted to a cam 55 which, itself, is pivoted at 56 to the adjacent standard 51. The cam 55 is provided with a lug 57 adapted to engage with a latch 58 pivoted to the gear side delivery way 47, this latch being normally held by a spring (not shown in the drawings) so that an arm 59 fast thereto is in contact with a stationary stbp pin 60. When the carriage 30 is near the end of its forward stroke, that is to say, that end at which it is nearest to the impression cylinder 31, the cam 55 makes contact with a stationary stud or roller 61, which causes it to be turned up ward on its pivot 56 so as to lower the fingers 52 on to the tapes 39. lVhen the car riage 30 is near the end of its backward stroke, the lug 57 of the cam 55 depresses the latch 58 which, immediately thereafter, is raised in front of and in engagement with, the said lug, so that at the next reversal of the travel of the carriage, the cam 55 is turned downward and consequently the fingers 52 are raised from the tapes 39 thereby leaving a free passage for the sheets off the tapes; the lug 57 becomes automatically disengaged from the latch 58 during the forward movement of the carriage 30, by the underside of the cam 55 pressing the said latch downward. Suitable means,not shown in the drawings, serve to retain the rock shaft 50, fingers 52, link 54: and cam 55 in the positions towhich they are respectively moved through the engagement of the said cam with the roller 61 or with the latch 58 until they are next positively moved from those positions by the engagement of the cam 55 with either the latch 58 or the roller 61, as the case may be.

As the delivery carriage 30 moves away from the impression cylinder 31 (the fingers 52 being then in their lower position) the sheet, which, at that juncture is on the delivery tapes 32, printed side up, is transferred to the delivery carriage tapes 39 which are, at that time, stationary relatively to the delivery carriage, and travel with the latter as though integral therewith. When the delivery carriage 30 commences its return journey, that is to say, its journey toward the impression cylinder 31, the fingers 52 (through the cooperation ofth-e lug 57 with the latch 58) are raised to free the leading end of the sheet, and the delivery carriage tapes 39 are operated so as to cause their upper flights to travel away from the impression cylinder 31 and to thereby deliver the sheet (still printed side up) into the tray 1 over which the delivery carriage 30 is then traveling.

lVhen the tray 1-supported by the before described arms 2-is full, the operator grasps the crank handle 23 and detent lever 24 so as to release the detent 25 from the recess 28, and turns the said handle rather more than one complete rotation in the direction indicated by the arrow a in Fig. 1, so as to allow the said tray to descend on to the guides or frames 9, and bring the next following arms below the top of this lowered tray, it being understood that before this tray lowering operation, there was only one tray in the machine, viz :that which was supported on the arms 2. An empty tray 1 is then slid on to the top of the full one, between the delivery of two successive sheets, and the operator thereafter turns the crank handle 23 backward until the detent 25 engages with the locking recess 28, this backward movement of the handle 23 serving to raise the empty or last-inserted tray 1 of]? the full tray 1 which latter is then free to be withdrawn off the frames 9.

If desired, the tray-supporting arms 2 at each side of the machine, and of which there may be any desired number, may, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, be connected together by bars 62, provided or not with rollers 63, for facilitating the positioning of the empty trays 1, in which arrangement it would not be necessary to turn the said bars 62, below the top of the full tray 1 preparatory to the insertion of an empty tray 1, as this empty tray will slide easily over the bars 62 or rollers 63.

The before described arrangement of sheet delivery mechanism is especially applicable for use in cases in which sheets of tissue paper, known in the art as slip sheets are manually inserted between successive printed sheets, for the reason that there are no obstacles to interfere with the ready insertion of the said slip sheets. In cases in which the portions of the printed sheets which are to be slip-sheeted, are situated near the leading ends of those sheets, difiiculty is sometimes experienced in conveying the slip sheets from the feed board from which they are fed, (and which feed board is generally a fixture above the delivery tapes 32) to the said portion. This difficulty is more or less due to the fact that the slip sheet has to be conveyed through the somewhat considerable distance between the feed board and portion to be slip-sheeted with no support other than the hands of the operator. The said difliculty may, as shown in Figs. 1 and 1, be overcome by arranging the feed board 6 1 so that it can be adjusted longitudinally of the machine toward and away from the delivery end thereof; this arrangement, however, constitutes no part of the present invention. The said feed board 641 has fast to its underside two rods 65, one at the feeder side and the other at the gear side; only the feeder side rod 65 is shown in the drawings. Each of the rods 65 is secured to the feed board 64 by two eyes 66 and is longitudinally adjustable through two lugs 67 integral with a bracket 68 fast to the adjacent side frame 10 of the machine. One of the lugs 67 is provided with a pinching screw 69 whereby the feed board 64: can be secured in any desired position of adjustment, and by reference to the full lines and dot-and-dash lines appearing in Figs. 1 and 1*, it will be seen that the said feed board may be located more or less over the delivery tapes 32, as when either the whole of the sheet or a portion at the rear end thereof has to be slip-sheeted or more or less over the tray 1 as when the portion to be slipsheeted is near the leading end of the sheet.

The before described tray apparatus, instead of being used in conjunction with a reciprocating delivery carriage as hereinbefore described, may be used conjointly with a fly or other delivery which delivers the sheets in a flat condition.

We claim 1. In sheet delivery mechanism, the combination with a removable sheet-receiving tray, and stationary supports adapted to support the tray in one position, of rotatasupporting positions.

2. In sheet delivery mechanism, the combination with a removable sheet-receiving tray, and stationary supports adapted to support the tray in one position, of rotatable arms at respectively opposite sides of the tray, adapted to support it above, and lower it on to, the stationary supports, two parallel horizontal shafts fast to the rotatable arms, gearing'operatively connecting the two parallel shafts with each other,

crank mechanism operatively connected to one of the parallel shafts for rotating them, and a detent operatively connected to the crank mechanism, adapted to lock the arms in their tray-supporting positions.

8. In sheet delivery mechanism, the combination with a removable sheet-receiving tray, and stationary supports adapted to support the tray in one position, of sets of rotatable arms at respectively opposite sides of the tray, adapted to support it above, and lower it on to, the stationary supports, each such set comprising a plurality of arms at equal angular distances apart, two parallel horizontal shafts fast to the rotatable arms, gearing operatively connecting the two parallel shafts with each other, hand crank mechanism adapted to rotate the two parallel shafts, gearing operatively connecting the crank mechanism with one of the parallel shafts and so devised that for each complete rotation of the crank mechanism, the said shaft is turned through an angle corresponding with that between two following arms, and a detent operatively connected to the crank mechanism adapted to lock the arms in their tray-supporting positions.

4. In sheet delivery mechanism, the combination with a removable sheet-receiving tray, and stationary supports adapted to support the tray in one position, of rotatable bars adapted to support the tray above, and lower it on to, the stationary supports, shafts operatively fast to the rotatable bars, crank mechanism operatively connected to the shafts for rotating them, and a detent operatively connected to the crank mechanism adapted to lock the bars in their traysupporting positions.

5. In sheet delivery mechanism, the combination with a removable sheet-receiving tray, and stationary supports adapted to support the tray in one position, of rotatable bars at respectively opposite sides of the tray, adapted to support it above, and lower it on to, the stationary supports, two parallel horizontal shafts fast to the rotatable bars, gearing operatively connecting the two parallel shafts with each other, crank mechanism operatively connected to one of the parallel shafts for rotating them, and a detent operatively connected to the crank mechanism, adapted to lock the bars in their tray-supporting positions.

6. In sheet delivery mechanism, the combination with a removable sheet-receiving tray, and stationary supports adapted to support the tray in one position, of series of rotatable bars at respectively opposite sides of the tray, adapted to support it above, and lower it on to, the stationary supports, the bars of each such series being at equal angular distances apart, two parallel horizontal shafts fast to the rotatable bars, gearing operatively connecting the two parallel shafts with each other, hand crank mechanism adapted to rotate the two parallel shafts, gearing operatively connecting the crank mechanism with one of the parallel shafts and so devised that for each complete rotation of the crank mechanism, the said shaft is turned through an angle corresponding with that between two following bars,

and a detent operatively connected to the crank mechanism adapted to lock the bars in their tray-supporting positions.

7. In sheet delivery mechanism, the combination with a removable sheet-receiving tray, and stationary supports adapted to support the tray in one position, of rotatable bars, rollers pivoted to the said bars, adapted to support the tray above, and lower it on to, the stationary supports, shafts operatively fast to the rotatable bars, crank mechanism operatively connected to the shafts for rotating them, and a detent operatively connected to the crank mechanism adapted to lock the bars in their traysupporting positions. 7

8. In sheet delivery mechanism, the combination with a removable sheet-receiving tray, and stationary supports adapted to support the tray in one position, of rotatable bars at relatively opposite sides of the tray, rollers pivoted to the said bars, adapted to support the tray above, and lower it on to, the stationary supports, two parallel horizontal shaft-s fast to the rotatable bars, gearing operatively connecting the two parallel shafts with each other, crank'mechanism operatively connected to one of the parallel shafts for rotating them, and a detent operatively connected to the crank mechanism, adapted to lock the bars in their tray-supporting positions.

9. In sheet delivery mechanism, the combination with a removable sheet-receiving tray, and stationary supports adapted to support the tray in one position, of series of rotatable bars at respectively opposite sides of the tray, rollers pivotedto the said bars, adapted to support the tray above and with that between two following bars, and a detent operatively connected to the crank mechanism adapted to lock the bars in their 15 tray-supporting positions.

In witness whereof we have hereunto set our hands in the presence of two witnesses.

HERBERT PEARCE. THOMAS ROBERT GILLETT PARKER.

lVitnesses:

G. E. BANNISTER, EDWIN H. KnnsLnY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C." 

